Raven's Desires (Night Hunters) (9 page)

Raven ground her teeth. Not now, she couldn’t do it right now. Raven needed to fight the rising need and find out what was going on in her life before taking the next step with this man. She doubted this step would be put on the back burner for long.

Raven swallowed in an effort to not moan when he pressed against her. God, how could a man give off so much sexual need? His touch sent every fiber in her body surging with life. She closed her eyes for a moment to try to get her body to settle down. She had to find the rational part of her brain to make him get off her so she could go shower.
Damn it, where is the rational part of my brain when I need it?
Each section of her brain was fogged with lust and need for Kristian.

Raven took a deep breath and opened her eyes. First mistake. Kristian’s eyes were dark with a hazy need. He looked like he wanted to devour her whole and she was on the brink of letting him do just that. Damn the marriage before sex rule her parents had drilled into her over the past years. Yes, she had sex once but then she planned on only having sex with the man she married. Kristian had shattered that plan in less than a day of knowing him and she didn’t really know him. She didn’t know anything about Kristian besides him having long fangs, a very impressive desire pressed against her at the moment, and a sexual prerequisite that could overload any woman’s rational thought and he knew how to use it and when.

“Kristian…ummmm…I know what you feel and I do also…but can you let me find out what is going on before ravishing my body?”

Kristian laughed.

“So you accept the fact that I will be ravishing you?”

What a cocky bastard he was. If he wanted to be that way then she could play hard to get.

“No, I’m not impressed at all by this. So, you can just move so I can go shower and wash your touch off my body. I can’t go around having you on me all day now can I?”

“Ouch, that hurts.” Kristian stared into her eyes. “I know you are lying because I can feel your body calling out for me.”

Kristian traced a heated path from the side of her neck down the front of the v-neck t-shirt to the valley between her breasts with his fingers. Raven couldn’t stop the shiver that wracked her body. It took every effort to keep her back from arching off the bed and pressing her body closer to his fingers so she could feel them on her heated skin.

Raven wanted to kick him for playing games with her. She wanted to win
him
over, not the other way around. He knew exactly what to do to make her want to beg him, but she wouldn’t. No, Kristian would have to work harder at it.

Raven took a deep breath and got some control over her body.

“Are you done with your attempt to win me over?”

“After feeling you shiver, I can say, yes. Have fun in the shower.”

Kristian moved from over her. He continued to dress as she sat on the edge of the bed still in shock from what had just happened.

“Once you are dressed, you can come downstairs to dinner.”

“Alright.”

Kristian gave her one look-over before leaving the room. Then and only then was she able to wrangle up the strength to move. Her legs wobbled as she stood.

“Damn Kristian and his ability to make me weak. I will not fall.”

Raven grabbed her clothes from the edge of the bed before heading to the bathroom. She needed a nice, long, cold shower to try to erase some of the tension rising inside her.

* * * *

Kristian made his way to the dining room. He spotted Shane sitting at the counter next to Veronica having dinner.

“Evening,” he said, but they never answered. They were giggling and talking so much they hadn’t noticed he had entered the room.

Once he opened the refrigerator they finally knew that he stood in the room.

“Finally woke up, sleepy head?” Shane asked.

“Look who finally sees me,” he said.

“Awwwww…Raven turned you down?” Shane teased.

Kristian grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. “Now why would you ask that?”

“Well, I can feel the sexual tension there, Kristian.”

“Screw you.”

“Nope, Veronica has taken care of that for me. Many times. I think I found a person who enjoys sex as much as I do.”

“Ever heard of TMI? If not, that was way more information than I needed to know.” Kristian took a swig of his water.

“Where is Raven?” Veronica asked.

“She’s taking a shower and should be down in a few.”

“Well, tell her I’m sorry, but I have to go to work soon. I need to get back to the café to get my car and go home to get ready.”

Shane stood from the table. “I will drive you to get your car.”

“It was nice meeting you, Kristian.”

“Nice to meet you also, Veronica. Have a nice night.”

“You do the same.”

After Shane and Veronica left, Elisabeth, his house keeper for the past sixty years came into the kitchen area to clean up the plates.

The ninety-eight year old shadow demon did not look a day over twenty. Kristian had helped Elisabeth sixty years before, when she was being attacked by a werewolf. Ever since that day she had asked to be his house keeper. He denied many times but she would not accept
no
for an answer. When he left home and came to Meadville, Elisabeth tagged along with him. Over the years, she had become family to him. She came in every day to clean and cook dinner for them. Not that she had to, but she did. He paid her well over what any maid should be paid.

A shadow demon who did not work under the Council did not get paid as he did as a hunter. Most demons, such as Elisabeth, had to work for a living. Most who had to work did something to upset the Council and were banned either for a short period of time or eternity. Kristian never tried to figure out what happened to Elisabeth to get her kicked from the Council. It had to be bad, but since she never brought it up or told him about it, he figured it was something that she didn’t want to discuss. He accepted her privacy. Most of the time the Council would make very harsh decisions over small things, and some people were treated unfairly. Most, like Elisabeth, moved on to make a normal life for themselves, working and living as a human.

“Good evening, Mr. Blackburn.”

“Hello, Elisabeth. How are you this lovely evening?”

Elisabeth placed the plates in the dishwasher. “Everything is well this evening. What about with you, sir?”

“Could be better, but I can’t complain.”

“Aye. You know bad days can only get better.”

Kristian sat at the counter table. He didn’t know why but they rarely used the dining room.

“That is very true, Elisabeth.”

“Do you want me to fix your dinner?”

“Yes, also make an extra plate, I have company.”

“Aye, Mr. Blackburn found himself a little play toy?”

Kristian laughed.

“No. Actually I found a new slayer who is also my mate.”

Elisabeth turned to Kristian. Her eyebrow lifted. “Really? How is this to be? You are to be ma…”

“Do not remind me of my future with my family, Elisabeth.”

“But what are you going to do, sir? Your mate is something you cannot change. You have prior arrangements back in Rio de Janerio with your parents.”

“I know, and I will handle that when the time comes. For now, I need to get this young lady to understand what she is, what we are and what will happen if she does not choose her path.”

“There is nothing she can do but pick the path that has been laid out for her. This woman is the first of her kind. To be paired with a Night Hunter, a race that is dying quickly and needs all the help that the spirits will give them.”

Kristian was always amazed with the way Elisabeth spoke sometimes. She had a different way of looking at life.

“You are right, Elisabeth.”

“Relax, sir, I’m sure that everything will be fine. Now, I’ll fix you and your mate’s dinner, then go clean up as quickly as possible and give you two the privacy you need.”

“Thank you, Elisabeth. You are so helpful to me. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You wouldn’t be able to get along without me.”

Kristian couldn’t contain the laughter inside him. There weren’t many things that made him smile, but tonight he had his mate in his life and everything seemed to be going right.

Kristian looked up when Raven made her way down the stairs.

Elisabeth placed a plate of food in front of him and one beside him before walking out of the kitchen. He looked down at the roasted chicken, baked potato, and green beans. He never enjoyed food that much but Elisabeth kept cooking for him day in and out, helping him to feel as human as possible
—
which was funny, since he had never been a human a day in his life.

Unlike a lot of vampires he knew, he was of the purest of breeds. Back to his great-great-great grandparents. They were all full-blooded vampires. There weren’t many of his kind anymore. So many people were falling for humans that they turned to mating outside the race. Over the centuries, hybrids where born and the bloodlines died out.

Not that full blooded female vampires were a big thing with him. His parents, now that was a different story. They didn’t even want him to have sex with a human without protection. It wasn’t like a vampire could knock up any random human. It took something special with that human for her to be able to get pregnant. No one could tell his parents that. They would never accept having a hybrid grandchild. His parents were so…so…he didn’t know any other word but racist towards humans, the very humans they fed on to keep them strong. He wondered how they would feel about him having a slayer, half-human, African American mate. Oh boy, this was going to be fun.

“Earth to Kristian.” Raven’s lovely voice brought him back to reality.

“I’m sorry. I spaced out there for a moment.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Here.” Kristian pointed to the seat next to him. “Have a seat.”

Raven swept her black hair behind her ear before sitting down.

“My maid made dinner. I hope you like it.”

Raven looked down at the plate then back to him.

“It looks delicious. But I’m not really that hungry.”

Kristian smiled at her. She was hungry, just a little shy about eating in front of him.

“Awww, if you don’t eat it, it will hurt Elisabeth’s feelings. She’s so sensitive about her cooking.”

Raven sighed then opened the napkin to retrieve her utensils. Kristian followed suit and decided that they would eat first and talk later.

* * * *

Raven finished off the food, which she had to say was perfect. Man, Elisabeth was an awesome cook. She would have to thank her the moment she saw her.

The silent dinner was somewhat awkward. She and Kristian had played a very dangerous sexual game upstairs and now they were acting as if it hadn’t happened. After her shower, she told herself that she would make it harder for him. She could not deny the sexual need that had built between them. There was something about Kristian that made her believe they would end up together.

Again, the rational part of her brain had shut down and the part where it did not make any sense spoke up. The bad part of this was, she did not feel weird about it. She knew she should be asking herself why she felt this way about a complete stranger or why she didn’t walk away from this feeling, because it really didn’t make any sense. Her mind said
get the hell out of here
, but her heart,
—
her heart beat with a different rhythm now. Her heart knew that things in her life were falling into place. The headaches, Kristian, and now all she needed was to find out about the voice in her head that said
a slayer is born
. What was a slayer, and what did that have to do with her?”

“Now it is you who is staring off into space.”

Kristian’s voice made her look at him and smile. “Geez, can a girl have time to herself?”

“Not really. How about we move to the living area? I don’t think the kitchen area is a great place to speak about what we have to talk about.”

Raven lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, so now you want to talk after such a quiet dinner?”

“I’m sorry. I was gathering my thoughts about this conversation.” Kristian rose from his chair and she followed him. “It’s not like it’s something you can just blurt out to a hum—I mean you. Some people may take this information and think I am some crazy man and try to lock me up for a very long time.”

Raven heard him speak but her eyes were on his backside. Nice broad shoulders. Long silky hair that hung to his shoulders. She had never been into men with longer hair than hers, but Kristian had that beach boy look and it looked damn good. All she had to do was reach out and touch.

“Are you paying attention to what I’m saying or just thinking about touching my hair?” Kristian turned around to stare at her with those baby blue eyes.